Wolfsong

Bestseller Klune (In the Lives of Puppets) opens his Green Creek series with this slow-burning and intricate urban fantasy, originally self-published in 2015. Four years after Ox Matheson’s father abandons him and his mother in their small Oregon town, the Bennett family moves in next door, and Joe Bennett, an 11-year-old survivor of abduction, immediately imprints on 16-year-old Ox, following him everywhere. Ox eventually learns that the Bennetts are werewolves and, just before Joe turns 18, Joe asks if he can court Ox with the intention of eventually becoming his mate for life, which Ox surprises himself by agreeing to, suddenly seeing Joe in a new light. Tragedy strikes when an old enemy of the Bennetts appears and kills both Joe’s father and Ox’s mother. Joe, now pack alpha, sets off with his brothers to hunt the killer, leaving Ox with scant communication for three years. As Ox discovers surprising abilities of his own and pines for Joe, threats to the pack’s safety and curiosity about Ox’s unusual position as a human among werewolves hold readers’ attention until a final, epic showdown. Klune gets ahead of any Twilight comparisons by making the connection explicit in the text, and the immersive­—if slightly overlong—plot offers plenty of opportunities to fall in love with these characters. Fans will be delighted. (July)